The Ararat Rural City Council has moved a motion for a new Memorandum of Understanding between Grampians Tourism and its local government partners, with a dollar figure for their support allocated. In the Council's meeting on July 27 Councillor Peter Beales moved the motion moved the motion, stating a new deal "is a simple and effective document". Ararat Rural City Council CEO Dr Tim Harrison said the new deal was required to continue the partnership. "I think Grampians has done a fairly good job at this point in time and the time has come for us to renew our Memorandum of Understanding between the four councils and Grampians Tourism for the services they provide us with," he said. "We have simplified the agreement to four key goals." READ MORE: The Memorandum of Understanding will take effect on the date it is signed by both parties and will expire on June 30 2024. The minimum annual financial contribution of each member Council will be $50,000 and consist of two parts. Firstly, $35,000 will be delivered to support the administration and operations of Grampians Tourism. The second being a $15,000 contribution to destination marketing. OTHER NEWS: These amounts will be paid annually on August 1 each year and reviewed at the annual review meeting between the partner Councils. Northern Grampians Shire Council, Horsham Rural City Council and Southern Grampians Shire Council are also intent on joining the partnership and signing their own Memorandum of Understanding. The proposed new Memorandum of Understanding is a straightforward document that is very clear in its intent and includes key goals. As part of the agreement Local Government Area's expectations from Grampians Tourism for 2021-22, including: brand development, destination marketing, digital collateral development, strategic product identification and support. If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Ararat Advertiser, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ararat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.